Away We Happened
by shortreminiscence
Summary: He has her luggage. She has his luggage. A chance encounter leads to an unexpected romance. Loosely based off YouTube mini-series by the same name. AU/Future Finchel
1. Stage One: Meeting

**Disclaimer: In no way affiliated with Glee**

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_**I don't know if you've ever noticed this, but first impressions are often entirely wrong. You can look at a painting for the first time, for example, and not like it at all, but after looking at it a little longer you may find it very pleasing.**_

_**Lemony Snicket, "The Bad Beginning"**_

* * *

_Rachel was late_. This had to be the hundredth time. She was going to miss her flight to New York and it was all her editor's fault. But then again, Rachel didn't have to stop for coffee. But she definitely needed the caffeine kick.

Waiting for her little fix, she impatiently tapped her foot against the tiled floor, poking her head from behind the people ahead of her in the queue and sighed, when a gust of wind hit her back. She peeked over her shoulder and noticed a tall male with a pair of Ray-ban Wayfarer sunglasses covering his eyes, his hair all ruffled under an old-looking baseball cap.

With her hand tightly gripped onto the handle of her black luggage, she slowly wheeled it behind her as she proceeded to take a few steps forward. She had a flight to catch and here she was, waiting for coffee. She must have been insane. Caffeine was far less important than reporting back to Emma about the past week; this was the biggest opportunity in her journalistic career. Emma hadn't let Rachel leave her desk the whole time she'd been working at _Maquillé _, which had been almost two years.

That was what happened when an impressionable young women who had _just_ graduated from Columbia University at the top of the Dean's list decided to jump at the first opportunity of employment. So, maybe Rachel was a bit too impulsive for her own good. She really should have considered her options, but according to her - she wasn't far from a promotion and this job was going to do it for her. She could just feel it; something good was meant to happen.

_Beep!_

Rachel rummaged through her brown clutch and pulled out her iPhone. It was Santana for the third time in the last fifteen minutes. With a soft clearing of her throat, she answered, "H-hello?"

"Where are you?" was all that could be heard through the ruffling on the other end, aside from the fact that Santana was screaming into the phone.

"I..." she couldn't tell Santana she stopped to grab coffee, she would have been scolded so she did the only thing she could and lied, "I rushed out the door and forgot to take my curling iron."

Somewhat relieved that her lie was believable, she shuffled forward as the line begun to slowly make some progress but turned around and came eye-to-eye with the male (and a handsome one at that) behind her who had taken off his sunglasses, revealing his mesmerizing chocolate-coloured eyes.

_Knock it off, Rachel. Work is number one right now._

Momentarily letting go of her luggage, she eyed the clock on the light yellow wall behind him and sighed, looked down at her iPhone and begun typing up a message to her co-worker, who - fortunately - was already at the terminal waiting for her. She had completely forgotten she was already on the line with Santana and raised the phone to her ear, scrunching her face from all the screaming that was coming from the other end.

"Santana," she managed to sneak in, "I'll be there soon!"

Once done, she slipped her phone into the pocket of her red coat, forgetting the people behind her and immediately walked into the man who happened to be watching her with an unamused expression adoring his face.

"I'm so sorry!" Rachel apologized, frantically grabbing the handle of her luggage, turned around and pulled it with her when she finally made it to the register and ordered herself a caramel latte with soymilk.

To her dismay and the man behind her, she couldn't find her money, unintentionally holding up the queue. She gave the cashier a small smile when she finally found a twenty to hand to the girl in front of her. Almost immediately, she grabbed her wrist, her voice low and apologetic, "Could you make it quick? I have a flight to catch."

And if it couldn't have been bad enough, once she had her coffee, she managed to bump into him again as she backed up her luggage to make room to leave the store. Looking down in embarrassment, she noticed that he had luggage that was identical to hers. The clearing of his throat and the scowl on his face said it all, causing her to roll her eyes at his rudeness and made her way out of the coffee shop, relieved she was out of the awkward air filling the space between her and the rude stranger.

Hailing a cab, she slipped in, "LAX please and fast."

* * *

_Finn was in a bad mood_; a really bad one. He got into L.A. later than anticipated, some short woman had held up the queue when he was in dire need of caffeine and a chocolate chip muffin, and to make matters worse, they were out of chocolate chip muffins. He was going to blame that woman from earlier, she must have taken the last chocolate chip muffin. Not that he saw or anything, but it was easier to blame her because she held up the queue; that was _enough_ reason to blame her.

_Women take everything. Even muffins._

He stood at the traffic light, his luggage behind him when his phone started buzzing and ringing in his jean pocket. He let out an exasperated sigh and pulled his iPhone out of his pocket, the caller ID informing him it was Mike and answered gruffly, "What?"

"Whoa, don't get too excited," Mike replied sarcastically, car honks clear in the background.

"Sorry," he replied as he rubbed his face with his hands and cleared his throat, "what's up?"

"I need you to take me some photos," a hint of apology in the tone of his voice.

"C'mon dude," he groaned, "I just got in from Vancouver."

"Yeah, and?" He obviously wasn't picking up on Finn's frustration, "You owe me for San Fran."

Finn knew he was right and with a defeated sigh, "Fine, where do you need me?"

"Chinatown."

Shaking his head with a small smile on his lips, he put his Ray-Ban's back on and made his way towards Chinatown.

* * *

Finn often found comfort in the fact that he was good at photography, immediately volunteering to photograph his mother's wedding to his stepfather when he was in college. It was weird having a father figure in his life after going his whole childhood and adolescence without guidance from a father - who had died during the war. He was glad that his mother had found someone to make her so happy and with that came a stepbrother who was definitely the voice of reason through a lot of his relationship issues.

But then again, his stepbrother was gay, so he sure knew a lot about females and how to handle them.

"Alright," he mumbled to his self when he found a prime spot to sit down and start shooting.

He lifted up his luggage onto the space beside him on the bench, needing to get out his camera and put in his combination on the lock, reciting it in his head, _1...2...3...4..._, waiting for the click, but it never came. He frowned, tugging on the lock a few times.

_Why isn't it opening? I didn't change the combination._

He turned over the luggage and read the name tag attached, _'Property of Rachel Berry'_ was written in cursive script on the small piece of cardboard. He must have grabbed the wrong bag, but it couldn't have been, he clearly remembered taking the right one when he left the airport. Finn had mistakenly taken the luggage of someone named Rachel Berry and he had no idea when or how.

Dialling the cell phone number written below, he sighed and waited for this Rachel person to pick up but it went straight to voicemail instead. He decided to leave a message, "Is this Rachel Berry? Well, I have something that belongs to you and you might have something that belongs to me," he licked his lips, "Call me back... and my name's Finn Hudson."

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_**Author's Notes: For the name of the magazine Rachel works at, I'm pretty sure I googled 'French word for make-up' and got that. But please correct me if I'm wrong. I'm hoping to extend the chapters as the story progresses, but for now, the updates will be short and hopefully, informative. If you're unsure about what Finn's job is, you'll find out soon. I'd also really love some comments and input before I publish the next chapter, so please, comment, subscribe and favorite!**_


	2. I Kept Imagining Her As a Blonde

**Disclaimer: In no way affiliated with Glee**

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_**I am imagination. I can see what the eyes cannot see. I can hear what the ears cannot hear. I can feel what the heart cannot feel.**_

_**Peter Nivio Zarlenga**_

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Rachel was nothing short of glad to be back in New York, her fingers fumbling with the keys as she unlocked the door to her shared apartment with two of her best friends who appeared to have gone out for the day. She slipped out of her mid-length peep-toe heels and wheeled her luggage into her bedroom, dropping her coat, clutch and keys on the edge of her bed.

Stretching her arms out over her head, she let out a huge sigh and noticed a folded piece of paper on the kitchen counter. She cocked her head in curiosity and walked over, reading the note written on the paper, _'Welcome back, Rachel! Britt and I have some vintage pieces to pick up for tomorrow's shoot! We'll be back by 3. Tina, xoxox'_.

A smile on her face, she shrugged as she pulled open the refrigerator and internally groaned; she was gone for one week and the girls managed to eat all of the food.

_I guess I have some grocery shopping to do. They sure do have an appetite._

Grabbing the necessities off her bed, she stopped in front of the mirror, checking out her reflection; happy with what she saw, she gave herself a small smile and slipped back on her shoes at the door. With one swift movement, she was out the door and waited for the click of the lock before making her way down the hallway and into the elevator. Pressing the ground button more than once, she sighed and leaned back against the gold railing of the elevator, hearing a small _ping_ as she passed each level on the way down.

The heels of her shoes clicking against the marble lobby of her apartment building sounded loud in the silence, but was immediately relieved when the doorman pulled open the door for her, giving her a friendly smile; one she was in desperate need of after the unfriendly flight with Santana.

_Then again, Santana's never friendly._

Rachel instantly inhaled the New York city air, looking up at the shining sun as she slipped on her coat and hugged it close to her body. The air was cool. She begun making her way down the street, ignoring the looks of passersby; she still managed to be a pariah in the big city without needing to stand out. Maybe it was the bright red coat she was sporting.

She was glad there was a grocery store - _Ruby's Superstore_ - not too far from her apartment and kept heading in that direction. It wasn't one of those chain stores that you could find at every turn and the prices were higher, but the quality was worth the extra twenty cents or so. Tina had found the store when she was in desperate need of tampons one night, almost three years ago. Ever since then, they had done their fortnightly grocery run there.

Heading left at the third traffic light, Rachel chewed on the insides of her mouth and pushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She started thinking about the rude stranger from that cafe in L.A. and shook her head, a small smile on her lips. If his attitude hadn't been such a big issue, Rachel would have thought he was cute. He had dark brown eyes that she could have stared into for days and ruffled hair she wanted to run her fingers through.

_Stop. He was so rude. Be glad you didn't start chatting him up. He was a jerk, remember?_

The honking of an oncoming car breaking her out of her reverie, she immediately jumped back onto the sidewalk. If it weren't for him, she wouldn't have been so careless and almost get run over by a car. It was definitely his fault.

_Stupid coffee shop guy._

* * *

Finn had yet to hear back from Rachel, having spent the last four hours in Chinatown, photographing different locations at several times of the day. He sighed, leaning back against the bench and looked down at the locked luggage he had to lunge around with him all day, which wasn't even his. He wasn't too pleased.

_Why didn't I notice earlier? This bag is way heavier than mine._

He glanced at his surroundings, the smell of Korean BBQ filling his nostrils. His stomach grumbled. He was definitely hungry. Checking the time on his watch, he was sure Mike wouldn't mind him calling it quits early. But just to make sure, he gave his friend a call. After just one ring, he picked up.

"Hey man," sounding a bit too happy at this time of the day.

"I got about four shots for each hour," he paused, "they're on my phone."

"Wait, what?" Mike, suddenly alert, "Why are they on your phone?"

Finn sighed, taking his cap off and ran a hand through his hair, "I accidentally took some girl's luggage instead of mine and my camera's in mine, but don't worry, the shots still turned out great."

"Is the girl hot?" Mike asked, eager and excited.

Finn chuckled, rolling his eyes and shrugged his shoulders, "I don't even know what she looks like."

"Does she _sound _hot?"

"I don't know, man," Finn answered, slightly exasperated, "but this isn't why I called."

Mike was shuffling some papers on his end, "What's up?"

"I thought I could call it a day and grab some food at _China's Best Korean_," Finn laughed. The restaurant's name was beyond stupid, but they had some good kimchi and their marinated beef BBQ was drool worthy.

_I'm hungry. Sue me._

"Sounds good," licking his lips, "hold up, right? I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

And with that, Finn hung up the phone, walking into _China's Best Korean _with the black luggage in tow, a server finding him a table for two towards the middle of the restaurant. Telling the young Asian girl he was waiting for someone, he pulled out his phone and decided to give Rachel another call.

* * *

_She better pick up this time._

Finn held the phone against his ear, a finger trailing the rim of his empty water glass. It was weird for him to be calling a girl two times in a day; if it were under any other circumstance, Finn wouldn't have bothered calling her. It was against the 'guy code' and he really hated going against the code.

Sighing when all he heard was, _"Hi, you've reached Rachel. Sorry I couldn't get to your call, but leave your message and I'll get back to you!"_ Finn truly hated leaving messages; it made him feel insignificant.

_Only people with no friends leave messages. And I, Finn Hudson, have friends._

"Hey Rachel," her name leaving his lips easily, "it's Finn again. Please get back to me as soon as possible. I really need my stuff."

Just as he put his phone down on the table, Mike walked in and gave him a little wave. Finn gestured to a server, calling them over as Mike seated himself across from Finn. It wasn't weird for him to notice a cute girl when he saw one and boy, was the server girl cute. If it weren't for the fact she had a ring on her finger, he would have slipped her his digits.

She began pouring water into both of their glasses, Finn giving her his most charming smile. Sure, he had his moments. He could be a charmer.

_What? She's cute. Real cute. Reminds me of a panda bear._

"Earth to Hudson," Mike cackled, "she had a ring."

Finn looked up, temporarily confused, "W-what?"

"I saw how you were looking at her," he smirked, "nice try."

Rolling his eyes, Finn tapped the top of the black luggage to his left, "Here's the bag."

"Do you know if it's hers?" Mike asked, glancing down at the bag before taking a sip of his glass of water, gesturing for the server to come back around.

"I'm guessing so," he shrugged, grabbing his phone off the table to check whether he had gotten a message or missed call in the past four minutes since he last called. He was on the verge of desperation; he could have easily been mistaken as a love struck teenage boy.

"Well, do you at least know what she looks like?" Mike asked, playing with the zipper of his Adidas jacket.

"I can only imagine," his voice drifting off as he began to picture different women in his mind, "I kind of think she'd be super hot since her voice is super hot... well from what I heard on her voicemail was pretty hot."

Mike laughed, thanking the server as she brought out their kimchi, "And to you, what is hot, exactly?"

"I don't know, like blonde, leggy with really great boobs," he shrugged, fumbling with the chopsticks in between his fingers.

"Reminds me of that model from that last Transformers movie," Mike's eyebrows did that waggling thing that Finn found disturbing.

"Yeah, but she had really big lips," he took a mouthful of kimchi, struggling to talk, "uh... like bigger than Sam's." He swallowed, his throat making a slightly audible gulping sound.

"Dude, that was a lot of kimchi."

Finn looked up, giving his friend a smile, "How about the girl from Vegas? What if she's like her?"

"Damn, she was mighty fine," Mike managed to reply before stuffing his mouth with the Korean delicacy.

"Her attitude sucked though," he thought back to their trip and could only remember hazy details. He got so drunk, but he did remember hooking up with a girl. She had tanned skin and it was so smooth; Finn definitely remembered that. But she was generally mean, constantly insulting him. Maybe he was into that stuff.

If she was as hot as he imagined, he had nothing to worry about. Unless she had a boyfriend. That would have just ruined everything. Like, he really hoped she didn't have a boyfriend especially if she was blonde and hot and looked like a Lakers' cheerleader. Finn had to admit, maybe taking this Rachel girl's luggage wouldn't be such a bad thing after all.

* * *

Rachel was soaking wet. It had begun to pour as soon as she left the store. Unlocking the front door, she stumbled into the apartment with the bags of groceries in her hands.

"Rachel! You're home! We wondered where you went, since you weren't picking up your phone," Tina explained as she took a bag off Rachel's hand, Brittany not far behind with Lord Tubbington.

"We all missed you, Rachel, even Lord Tubbington!" Brittany squealed, putting down her cat to hug Rachel but moved back, "but you're all wet!"

Rachel let out a small laugh, wringing out her hair, much to the dismay of Tina who ran over with a small cloth to wipe up the dripping water. She gave her an apologetic smile before sprinting to her bedroom, with Brittany trailing behind who found herself a comfortable spot on Rachel's bed.

"How was L.A.?" Brittany asked, her hand rubbing Lord Tubbington's head, who leapt up onto Brittany's lap.

"Really warm," she replied, peeling off her wet clothing, leaving her standing in her bedroom with nothing but her bra and underwear on. She rummaged through her wardrobe, looking for something comfortable to change into.

"Did you meet any cute guys?" Brittany had an eyebrow raised, her fingers gently playing with the cat's ears.

Rachel rolled her eyes, pulling on her pink bunny pyjamas and shook her head, "Nope."

_Except for the guy at the coffee shop. But I didn't meet him.. I bumped into him._

It was obvious Rachel had nothing more to say on the topic. And Brittany knew why, but she was never one for boundaries. "Is it because of Jesse?"

At that moment, Tina had snuck into Rachel's room and seated herself comfortably beside Brittany. She glanced over at Brittany who had a curious glint in her eyes.

"I-uh, no," Rachel grabbed her towel off the back off the hanger behind her door and started patting out her wet hair with her pink towel. "Jesse and I are over..."

Tina could sense the hesitance in her best friend's voice and pressed her lips together into a tight line, "I'm not buying it, Rachel. You obviously still care about him. I don't know why, but you do and I not going to let you sit around here and mope. You need to get out of your rut. It's been two months."

With a little shrug, Brittany fidgeted with the fat cat's ears and nodded in agreement and mumbled lowly under her breath, "I never really liked him. He made me feel dumb."

Rachel shot her friend a look and sighed heavily. She knew they were right, but she wasn't going to admit that. Throwing her towel over the railing in her bathroom, she walked over to wear the incessant beeps on her iPhone were going off and kneeled down to fish it out of her bag. She had yet to unpack her luggage, and normally, she would have gotten it over and done with but she was in a lazy mood which was different for her.

_It must be the weather_.

Her brows knitted together when her screened flashed with six missed calls and two voicemail messages. Immediately taken aback, she instantly thought of bad news she might have missed.

"Are you cooking tonight, Tina?" Brittany asked, breaking Rachel out of her distressed trance.

She instantaneously looked up and held her phone in her hands, confusion adorned her features. "Has anyone called since you've got home? With horrific news?"

Her two friends shared a look and laughed, replying in sync, "No."

Shaking her head, her wet hair sticking to her bare skin, she called her voicemail inbox and held the phone close to her ears. Brittany and Tina had left the room, probably to get dinner ready while she heard a husky male voice come through the line, but immediately frowned at what he had to say.

"I-" she bit her bottom lip, frustrated that she had somehow switched her luggage with some complete stranger. But how could she have? She only made one stop before heading to the airport and it was at... _the coffee shop_! Realization hit her and she ran out of her room, much to the surprise of her roommates.

Clearly alarmed, Tina walked over, holding her hands out, "Easy girl. What's up?"

"I... he... some idiot took my luggage and I have his! Listen to this!" she exclaimed frustratingly, holding the phone out to Tina who pressed her ear against the speaker.

"Didn't you check your bag when you got to the airport or when you got home?" Tina asked, inquiringly, her hands on her hips as she held back a laugh at Rachel's reaction.

"I was too busy doing other things! More important things!" she called over her shoulder, dark hair flying behind her as she rushed to her room and tugged the luggage from beside her bed, turning it over in front of her. She really must have switched her brain off, if she had gotten this ratty old thing confused with her much newer, much cleaner one. Letting an exasperated huff of air, she dialled the number on her phone and pressed the phone to her ear, hearing a few rings. Her mind was racing, mentally cursing herself for somehow switching her luggage with some behemoth at a coffee shop.

"Hello? Is this Finn? My name's Rachel and I think you may have my luggage."

* * *

_**Author's Notes: Okay, so it took me a while to update this. I do apologize, but I've been so preoccupied that I eventually saw updating this as a chore rather than something I wanted to do, and put it off for a long while when I suddenly felt inspiration to write again. This might be quite a disappointing chapter though and I do apologize in advance for that. But now, the story's kind of started to take off. Also, the quote I used has some relation to what's happened in this chapter, but not really. I was trying to find a relevant quote that related to Finn imagining what the Rachel might have looked like, but you know how it goes, eventually his imagination gives him something better. If there's anything you'd like to see happen or major plots you'd like me to incorporate, feel free to tell me so in your reviews or even, private message me! I don't bite. I'd also really love some comments and input before I publish the next chapter, so please, comment, subscribe and favorite!**_


	3. First Call

**Disclaimer: In no way affiliated with Glee.**

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_**To find out your real opinion of someone, judge the impression you have when you first see a letter from them.**_

_**Arthur Schopenhauer**_

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Finn had been lounging around on his couch for the past hour, just staring at his phone, waiting for it to ring. After moments of contemplation, he willed himself off the couch and logged onto his computer, stationed just by the opening to the small balcony of his apartment. He had a lot to sort through on his desktop, but connected his phone to the computer and waited for it load up.

His mind had kept going back, all day, to ideas of how Rachel might have looked. His only wish was that she had some nice curves and boobs. He didn't care what size or what shape, as long as there was boobs to look at.

_I'm not a pig or anything. I just really like boobs._

He really was starting to sound like his teenage self again. Technically, there was nothing wrong with that. He was a man, after all, and he did still have testosterone running through his veins.

Finally loaded, Finn selected, clicked and dragged the photos he took onto his desktop. He was just about to disconnect his phone, when he heard a knock at the door. Lightly groaning, he pushed up the sleeves of his plaid outer shirt and walked over to the door, letting out a small breath and pulled it open.

Mike.

The grin on his friend's face said it all. It was boys' night, and Finn had let it slip his mind, spending most of his afternoon, thinking about his luggage. If Mike was there, it wasn't long until Artie and Sam showed up. Both with snacks to share and spare. Having made sure to log off his computer and slip his phone into his pocket, he set up the poker table and made to play to start, dealing the cards among them.

_I'm not having the best day, but maybe winning a few hundred bucks off these idiots might make it better._

"You boys ready to lose a lot of money?" The grin growing on Finn's face.

His earlier worry moving to the back of his mind as he called Sam and Artie's bluff, leaving him to watch Mike carefully; he hadn't folded yet, so it must have been a bad sign on Finn's part. Pushing away his initial worry about his luggage, he was able to hand Mike his own ass on a silver platter.

_Modesty had never been my best trait._

"Damn it, Hudson," Artie put in, "you're on a roll tonight." All of them laughed, enjoying the company and the pizza. They all loved the pizza.

"I think it's the Lakers girl," he replied, a sheepish smile playing on his lips.

Every guy at the table seemed to widen their eyes at this sudden revelation, except Mike, it seemed.

"Lakers girl?" Sam repeated, clearly interested.

Mike rolled his eyes, chuckling as he threw some chips into the middle of the table. "The girl who has his luggage. He thinks it's a Lakers girl because of her voice."

"She so could be, man," Finn stated eagerly, "like her voice was loud and confident but not crazy... well, it doesn't seem that way. I actually liked listening to her voice. It was pretty endearing even if it was just her voicemail."

_I sound like an idiot right now. Stop talking, Hudson. Stop._

Artie commented on the lack of pizza, demanding to order some more in which the others agreed. Mike, taking charge, pulled out his phone and dialled _Paolo's Pizzeria_.

"Hey dude! It's Mike... yep... four more... you heard right... four... fifteen minutes? Cool... yep... see you then..." Hanging up, Mike did a little stretch and looked over at Finn who was taking a large bite out of his already half-eaten pizza slice.

Finn, concentrating on the food in his mouth, stood up from the poker table and walked over to his kitchen area, which failed to consist of much other than an unused oven, a dank microwave his mom bought him and his beloved refrigerator. Then his phone began buzzing inside his jean pocket, his oily fingers struggling to slide it out. He could hear the guys bellowing voices behind him.

_Shit. It might be Rachel._

Wiping his hands on his shirt, he nimbly slid the phone out of his pocket and immediately answered, holding the speaker to his ear, still chewing on the food in his mouth, "Hello?"

"Hello? Is this Finn? My name's Rachel and I think you may have my luggage," the voice spoke softly, but assertively.

_Rachel?_

Hearing the name, the last ounce of pizza he had to swallow stuck in his throat. "Mike!" he managed to spit out, the pizza still lodged in his throat as he begun coughing and sputtering, dropping his phone on the floor. Finn, realizing his friend was preoccupied, tried to pat his own back and lightly punch at his own stomach before the little, drab pieces of pizza came spewing out. He was going to have to clean that later.

"H-hello?! Is anyone there? What happened?" Rachel's voice was concerned as it came out of the speaker of his phone.

He swooped it back up into his hand, swallowing and pressed the speaker, once again, to his ear.

"What happened?! Are you okay?!" her voice was frantic, still worried about the stranger on the line.

"Sorry... I-I choked. I didn't think you would actually call me back," he admitted, his cheeks warming.

"Oh," she cleared her throat and Finn could hear the smile in her voice, "yes, well, you do have my bag after all and I wouldn't mind having it back."

Finn bit her bottom lip and nodded, "R-right, of course. Totally forgot about that."

_Shut up, Finn. Why else would she be calling?_

Rachel laughed softly, "I don't really know you enough to call you for any other reason, Finn."

He really liked the way she said his name. Something was definitely wrong with him. He was becoming quite infatuated with her voice.

"And plus, the first time we met, you weren't necessarily the nicest person," she spoke matter-of-factly, other voices barely audible in the background.

Finn leaned against his kitchen counter, frowning slightly, "What d'you mean?"

"Well, you did keep giving me these mean looks at the coffee shop," Rachel answered, her voice as sweet as cherry pie.

_Coffee shop? Oh, she must have been the girl who walked into me! The one who was going to steal my muffin. _

It must have been her. Finn was convinced it was her. He thought back to that moment and internally groaned. She did hold up the line after all. No one could blame him for being so hostile.

"Oh yeah! You were the girl who was going to steal chocolate chip muffins," he responded smugly, "and you held up the line."

"That was _not _my fault! There was already a line in front of me! And it wasn't my fault you're such a giant!" she exclaimed, her breathing heavy.

Finn chuckled, amused at her reaction, "Whoa, whoa, calm, Rachel."

"Anyway, that's beside the point. I just need my luggage back. It has important things in there."

"Like what? Make-up and clothes?" Finn joked, not realizing he was spurring her on.

Rachel scoffed. "No, Finn, just because I'm female, it doesn't automatically mean everything in my bag would be make-up and clothing. Matter of fact, I have my laptop and some other important documents in there that I need for my job."

He had to hold back his laughter. Finn hadn't realized how intense girls could be, he ran a hand over his hair and looked up when a knock sounded on his door. He covered the speaker and called over to the guys, "Pizza's here!"

"Yes, well, do you have any suggestions on how we could possibly exchange the bags? I'm in New York, if that makes a difference," she explained, her voice trailing off as he heard her say something to a person named Brittany, "no, no, Britt. I don't want to share my food with Lord Tubbington... okay, sorry, where were we, Finn? Right! I'm in New York!"

Finn ran a hand over his face and groaned softly, pressing his lips together in a line, "S'kay. I'm in L.A., so I'll just mail it off... first thing in the morning."

Rachel breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you, Finn! I appreciate it! You're saving my life, even after you acted like a jerk. Thank you. I'll mail yours off too."

He knew he had to say something before she hung up. Something.

"Well, I have to go... dinner's almost done," her voice trailing off, about to press out of the call.

"W-wait!"

Rachel, hearing the urgency, immediately whipped back her head. She pressed her ear against the speaker, eyes wide, "What is it, Finn? Is something wrong?!"

Finn, shook his head and gave his pride a break, his breathing came out slightly ragged, "U-uh... I just wanted to apologize. I'm sorry if I came off as a jerk, I didn't mean to. I've just been under a lot of stress and I took it out on you."

"It's okay, Finn. We all have those days. I understand. I'm not upset with you, really, but I appreciate the apology no less," she replied in a sincere and sweet voice.

_I really like her voice._

"I was just really scared you were gonna take the last chocolate chip muffin," he chuckled.

Rachel laughed, her voice filling his ears. Man, he really loved that laugh too.

"Well... you got your muffin, but lost your bag," she joked, a little clearing of her throat came through the line, "hope it was worth it."

"Yeah, well... I'll talk to you later," he said instantly, knowing she had to go.

She let out this little laugh, "Okay, bye. Thanks Finn."

_Beep_.

And she was gone.

* * *

Rachel looked down at the phone in her hands, her hand pressed up against the bag in front of her. She replayed the last fifteen minutes in her head. So, maybe Finn wasn't such a bad guy after all. Uncrossing her legs, she made her way to the kitchen and seated herself on a chair across from Tina, who seemed to be finishing up pizza.

"So did you call him?" Tina asked, her attention on something else, possibly the salad mix.

"Yeah, he'll be mailing my luggage out tomorrow morning and I'll do the same," not wanting to delve deeper on the instant connection she felt to him just through one phone call.

"Okay, good, because I don't think either Santana or Emma will be pleased if you didn't have the article done by Friday."

Rachel knew Tina was right and nodded, picking up a carrot and popping into her mouth. She glanced back down at her phone and hesitantly picked it up, typing in a message and pressed 'send' with a smile on her face.

It was against her own rules to text somebody like this, but hey, she might as well be rebellious while she gets the chance.

_If I remember clearly, he was definitely cute. Like boyishly cute, with that slight scruff on his chin._

* * *

Finn had comfortably seated himself back at the poker table, jokingly scolding Mike about not coming to his rescue when he was choking on his pizza, "Dude! I almost died and you didn't hear me!"

"You think I can hear you over these idiots? They're like a huge crowd at a Mets game," he whistled, a smirk on his mouth when their friends gave him a glare.

"Whatever, man," Finn replied with a laugh.

_So she wasn't a hot blonde cheerleader, but she did nice have legs... from what I could see, of course. And she smelt like vanilla. Or maybe that was the coffee._

Running a hand through his short, dark hair, Finn felt a buzzing in the right pocket of his jeans and pulled it out, looking down at the text, '_Really hope the chocolate chip muffin was worth it! But then again, you got to meet me. Even if the meeting wasn't friendly. ;) Rachel._'

If Rachel wasn't the reason why Finn was smiling for the rest of the night, then he didn't know what was.

He really needed to save her number.

* * *

_**Author's Notes: Okay, I take forever to update! I know! I'm so sorry! I just get so distracted, but that doesn't mean I've forgotten about it. I promise. This chapter is quite short. But it kind of got where I needed to get, so I'm reasonably happy with it. I hope you enjoy it! And I want some suggestions on how Finn ends up getting to New York! Is it for work? For his family? But either way, he's going to get there. And he's going to meet Rachel. So please comment, subscribe and favorite!**_


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